Winemaker's Notes:

The 1996 vintage of this wine was ranked #10 on the Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 2007

Krug Vintage is a statement – Krug's definitive, one-off interpretation of the character of an outstanding year. The blend contains wines exclusively from that year.

Characterized by the warm glow of yellow gold and the fragrant aroma of flowers in bloom, Krug 1998 is an enchanting champagne of astonishing purity and precision. From its creamy, caressing texture, through its full, finely balanced flavors, to its extraordinarily long finish, it is a study in harmony, delicate, refined, and captivating. Think notes of red berries, stewed fruit, brioche, almond, gingerbread, and citrus.

Additional wines from Champagne Krug:

About Champagne Krug:

Since 1843, with unique single-mindedness and sense of purpose, the Krug family has proudly cultivated the markedly individual character of their exceptional champagne. Theirs is a living legend, a certain idea of excellence that has been quietly redefined through six generations without a break.

Krug's founder, Johann-Joseph Krug, was a maverick who turned his back on a comfortable position in an established champagne house to strike out on his own. He had not only the vision, but also the talent, to achieve his ambition of creating a champagne with a taste quite unlike any other.

Subsequent generations of the Krug family not merely honored his achievement, but amplified it, bringing genuine pride and passion to their craft. From meticulous grape selection, through the birth of the wine in small oak casks, to the intricate process of "assemblage", followed by long years of aging in the cellars, Krug champagne is the culmination of painstaking care and unrivalled craftsmanship.

Additional wines from Champagne Krug:

About Champagne Krug:

Since 1843, with unique single-mindedness and sense of purpose, the Krug family has proudly cultivated the markedly individual character of their exceptional champagne. Theirs is a living legend, a certain idea of excellence that has been quietly redefined through six generations without a break.

Krug's founder, Johann-Joseph Krug, was a maverick who turned his back on a comfortable position in an established champagne house to strike out on his own. He had not only the vision, but also the talent, to achieve his ambition of creating a champagne with a taste quite unlike any other.

Subsequent generations of the Krug family not merely honored his achievement, but amplified it, bringing genuine pride and passion to their craft. From meticulous grape selection, through the birth of the wine in small oak casks, to the intricate process of "assemblage", followed by long years of aging in the cellars, Krug champagne is the culmination of painstaking care and unrivalled craftsmanship.

Winemaker's Notes:

On the first nose, typical Chardonnay characteristics come to the fore, with the arrival of floral
and mineral aromas (acacia, ferns, chalk). By agitating the wine, scents of candied fruit (citrus
fruits, apricots, quince) and sweet almond emerge, to reappear later in the mouth. After rotating
the wine for a few minutes more, rare notes such as peaty malt, tobacco and delicate herbs, are
gradually unveiled.

This aromatic, impressively complex bouquet is confirmed in the mouth. On the palate, the wine
is clear-cut and pure, perfectly balanced with a delightful silky smoothness. La Grande Dame
1998, with its lace-like construction, has a long, lively, and structured finish.

This wine has
unbelievable aging potential. The 1998 vintage of La Grande Dame, the quintessence of the
Veuve Clicquot style, reaches a peak of refinement, without losing its legendary strength
produced by a blend including nearly two-thirds of Pinot Noir.

About Veuve Clicquot:

The House was founded by Philippe Clicquot in 1772. Since its inception, Veuve Clicquot has been a specialist in Champagnes based on Pinot Noir, especially Rosé. In 1803, François Clicquot was married to Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin. Madame Clicquot was widowed just two years later. Veuve Clicquot (Veuve means widow in French) took over her husband's business. In 1810, the house took the name Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. The way that she ran her company, from risky overseas ventures to startling technological innovations, changed Champagne forever. Her motto is still the guiding principle of our company – "Only one quality – the finest."

In 1816, Mme. Clicquot invented the process, called rémuage or riddling, that removes the yeast from the bottle. She used holes cut in her kitchen table to perfect the method of slowly tilting and turning the bottles to gather the spent yeast in the neck of the bottle. Once settled it could be removed by freezing the neck in a brine of salt and water, removing it, and recorking.

The company was taken public in 1963, and merged with Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessey in 1986. Today, Jacques Peters is the chief winemaker at Veuve Clicquot, and was appointed cellar master in 1985. He has undertaken an ambitious program since this time to upgrade the grape sources, improve the vineyards, and improve the cellars and production facilities.

Winemaker's Notes:

The 2005 vintage of this wine was ranked #7 on the Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 2008

Very intense color. Very strong nose, dominated above all by fruity notes and a high mineral content. Cultivation methods add a touch of additional complexity. Strong palate and full-flavored. The wine is structured, with very smooth tannins. The finish is long and savory.

About Chateau Pontet-Canet:

Jean Francois Pontet, Royal Master of the Horse in the early 18th Century, bought and consolidated several plots of land located northwest of Pauillac. Several years later, in 1750, his descendants bought neighboring vineyards in an area named "Canet", thus creating one of the largest estates in the entire Medoc. Chateau Pontet-Canet's topography and soil predestined it to produce great wine.

In 1865, the noted wine shipper Hermann Cruse acquired the chateau and its 120 hectares of vones. The Cruse dynasty provided the financial means to make one of the greatest wines in the Medoc. In 1975, Guy Tesseron, solidly implanted in the Cognac region, and owner of Lafon Rochet in St-Estephe, purchsed Pontet-Canet. Assisted by his son Alfred, he has done much to develop the reputation of this famous classified growth. "Quality" is the key word in the vineyard and cellars.

Winemaker's Notes:

Armand de Brignac is marvelously complex and full-bodied, with a bouquet that is both fresh and lively. Its sumptuous, racy fruit character is perfectly integrated with the wine's subtle brioche accents. Its texture is deliciously creamy and the palate has great depth and impact with a long and silky finish. A superb and singular example of a Prestige Champagne.

THE BOTTLE
2006 marks the unveiling of Armand de Brignac in the stunning gold bottle originally developed by Cattier for the André Courrèges fashion house. Cattier's gold bottle also made an appearance at Queen Elizabeth II of England's Golden Jubilee celebration. All labels for each bottle of Armand de Brignac are made of real pewter, polished and applied by hand.

My Notes:

Additional wines from Armand de Brignac:

About Armand de Brignac:

Armand de Brignac is produced by Armand de Brignac Champagne of Reims, France. The Cattier family has owned and cultivated land in the Champagne region’s Montagne de Reims Terroir since 1763, and coined the Armand de Brignac name in the 1950s. In our search for a Champagne that would meet our standards for a finer luxury Champagne,
we chose the Cattier house because of their history and reputation for producing exquisite Champagne. M. Cattier was able to create a blend of grapes that fit what we had sought. Armand de Brignac bottles are filled, corked, and cultivated by hand by our caretakers throughout the aging process. The Armand de Brignac cellars are considered the deepest in the Reims Terroir.

Winemaker's Notes:

Louis Roederer Cristal, the first Prestige Cuvée, was created in 1876 for Tsar Alexander II of Russia. One hundred and thirty-four years later, it remains faithful to its origin, inspired by elegance, purity, and precision. "It is a blue sky, without any clouds," says Cellar Master Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon.

Cristal 2004 – a highly seductive vintage reminiscent of the classic 1988 – has a slender, almost living freshness. Highly contemporary in its harmony and immediate seductiveness, it nevertheless remains first and foremost a great classic of northern Champagne, combining freshness, energy and an almost chalky mineral quality. The Cristal hallmarks are evident: purity, precision and the unique harmony of flavors associated with the subtle power of our historic vines, located on the finest Champagne Grand Cru terroirs.

"Brilliant yellow color displaying light amber nuances, combined with an ultra-fine, persistent, soft effervescence. There's an intense, highly expressive bouquet on the first nose! The aromatic elegance and precision of Chardonnay is apparent: white fruit, sweet pollen, fine citrus fruit and very pure minerality. After a few minutes, the aromas move on to more confit, lightly grilled hints. The bouquet is rich and sweet, almost generous, remaining precise and impeccably refined. The bite in the mouth is full and creamy, revealing an incredible concentration of juicy fruits: yellow peach, apricot, mango and others. This silky, meaty concentration, which is both dense and soft – and typical of great pinot noirs – is immediately combined with a sophisticated touch of acidity, bringing the wine alive with minerality. The overriding impression is one of a true harmony of flavors, senses and silky textures...Absolute sensuality." – Jean Baptiste Lécaillon, Cellar Master.

About Louis Roederer:

Uncompromising Quality
Champagne Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 in Reims, France and is one of the rare
family owned companies, which is still managed by the Roederer family. In 1833, Louis
Roederer inherited the company from his uncle and renamed the company under his namesake. Under his leadership, the company rapidly grew while remaining true to their philosophy of uncompromising quality. Today, the company is under the helm of Jean-Claude Rouzaud and his son Frédéric who continue to place quality before quantity.

First-Rate Vineyards
Champagne Louis Roederer is one of the only French champagne producers to own nearly 75 percent of the grapes in the most desirable vineyards in the Champagne. The property is located on 450 acres in the finest villages of Montagne de Reims, Côtes des Blancs, and Valleé de la Marne. Each region is selected to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with the elegance needed for perfectly balanced champagne. The Louis Roederer vineyards rate an average 98 percent based on France’s statutory 100-point classification scale.

The reserve wine is then tasted and graded by a team of Roederer specialists. They choose as many as 40 different wines from several lots for the blend. For the final touch, the wine is then added in order to enhance the cuvee and guarantee consistency while retaining the champagne's characteristics.

Winemaker's Notes:

Cristal, the jewel and tête de cuvée of Champagne Louis Roederer, was created in 1876 for the Tsar Alexander II of Russia. It remains faithful to its origin, inspired by elegance and purity. Cristal is produced with regimented standards of winemaking that require a rigorous selection of crus, vintages, grapes, and wine.

Cristal is produced using only the finest vintages from crus guaranteed to originate from the Louis Roederer vineyard. All the exceptional characteristics of the 2002 vintage have literally been captured in this Cristal 2002, which is generous and lush, revealing perfect balance between concentration and finesse, freshness and vinosity, intensity and refinement. In three words: proud, rich and luxurious.

Cristal 2002 is brilliant yellow with light amber highlights and has a beautiful mousse with fine cordon of persistent and regular bubbles. The nose is intense and delicate, revealing a clean and well-blended mixture of flavors of honey, cocoa, lightly toasted hazelnuts, candied citrus fruit. A savory explosion of ripe fruit on the attack, the wine reveals red fruit, white chocolate, caramel and Danish pastry, typical of Cristal. Its silky, concentrated texture relies on its intense, powerful and vinous structure, but maintains refinement. The palate builds up to attain a delicious sensation of well-blended harmony of flavors. A fresh finish with a hint of bitterness makes it almost crunchy.

About Louis Roederer:

Uncompromising Quality
Champagne Louis Roederer was founded in 1776 in Reims, France and is one of the rare
family owned companies, which is still managed by the Roederer family. In 1833, Louis
Roederer inherited the company from his uncle and renamed the company under his namesake. Under his leadership, the company rapidly grew while remaining true to their philosophy of uncompromising quality. Today, the company is under the helm of Jean-Claude Rouzaud and his son Frédéric who continue to place quality before quantity.

First-Rate Vineyards
Champagne Louis Roederer is one of the only French champagne producers to own nearly 75 percent of the grapes in the most desirable vineyards in the Champagne. The property is located on 450 acres in the finest villages of Montagne de Reims, Côtes des Blancs, and Valleé de la Marne. Each region is selected to produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with the elegance needed for perfectly balanced champagne. The Louis Roederer vineyards rate an average 98 percent based on France’s statutory 100-point classification scale.

The reserve wine is then tasted and graded by a team of Roederer specialists. They choose as many as 40 different wines from several lots for the blend. For the final touch, the wine is then added in order to enhance the cuvee and guarantee consistency while retaining the champagne's characteristics.

Winemaker's Notes:

The first hints of fresh almond and harvest aromas immediately open up into preserved lemon and dried fruits, the whole rounded off by darker smoky and toasted qualities.

The presence of the wine on the palate is immediately captivating. Paradoxically concentrated yet creamy, it is energetic and warm in the mouth, focusing on the fruit, then gradually taking on more profound bass notes. The whole holds its note perfectly, intensively, with just a subtle, elegant hint of underlying bitterness.

My Notes:

Additional wines from Dom Perignon:

About Dom Perignon:

Dom Pérignon, a seventeeth-century cellarmaster of the Abbey of Hautvillers, is revered as the spiritual father of winemaking in the Champagne region. Keen observation, respect for nature, pragmatic creativity, technical innovation, the courage of his convictions, and patience were the instruments serving his vision. He constantly mastered and incorporated all its components and the stages of its production, from the vineyards themselves to the pressing and clarification of the wines and their preservation.

Dom Pérignon was the originator of new techniques for cultivating vines and making wine. These innovations spread rapidly throughout the region.

Today, Dom Pérignon is produced by France's largest Champagne house, Moët et Chandon. Dom Pérignon’s principle contribution in the 20th century has been its commitment to vintage years. In addition to the exclusive use of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes from only the finest growths and vineyards, Dom Pérignon strictly limits itself to wines of the very best years, which have undergone long ageing.

The Dom Pérignon style is constructed by the Chef de Cave to create a range of sensations on the palate that reflect all the complexity of the structure, and the aromas and characteristics of the vintage.